The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus, such as a portable computer, having a pack-type device removably attached to its housing.
In a portable computer, for example, its housing is provided with a mounting section, in which pack-type devices for expanded functions can be set alternatively as required. These devices include an FDD (floppy disk drive), CD-ROM drive, DVD (digital versatile disk) drive, etc.
In general, each pack-type device is in the form of a flat metallic casing that has a system unit therein. Conventionally, therefor, a flat mounting section for a pack-type device is provided in the housing of the portable computer so that one end portion thereof opens in the outer surface of the housing and serves as a device loading slot. The pack-type device is fitted into or removed from the mounting section through the loading slot.
However, the conventional arrangement in which the pack-type device is set in the housing of the computer has the following problems.
The mounting section in the housing is formed having specific dimensions (length, width, and depth). Although the mounting section can be loaded with a pack-type device of a size equal to or smaller than its size, therefore, it cannot receive a larger device. In other words, the sizes of available pack-type devices depend on that of the mounting section.
In developing a portable computer, the mounting section of the housing is designed to be adjusted to the maximum size of pack-type devices that are initially expected to be used therewith. After the computer is completed as a final product, however, it may be necessary to use a pack-type device that is larger than the mounting section. In this case, the device cannot be set in the mounting section to expand the faculty of the computer unless it can be made smaller than the mounting section.
Moreover, the size of the mounting section is influenced by the size of the largest of the available pack-type devices, and the housing size by the size of the mounting section. Accordingly, the size of the entire housing should be subject to the influence of that of the largest devices to be set in the mounting section.
Thus, even in case the largest pack-type devices are poorly demanded ones that are used only rarely, the overall size of the housing must inevitably be settled depending on the dimensions of these devices.